In Memory of Bob Gibbon Sensei
In Memoriam -
Sentiments from around the world
PAGE 3
(In no particular order)
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... the "In Memoriam" page ... It's a great
idea and one important way of acknowledging Bob's life and immense contribution
to his Aikido family. I feel I've lost a loved family member and every now and
then another wave of sadness and regret surfaces.
The process of looking through [photos of Bob] brought to mind many memories:
- Training with Bob in our lounge room at Rozelle ... and the souvenir
bokken hole left in the lightshade.
- Training with Bob 'under lights' on Birchgrove oval.
- The feeling of release from habitual patterns that Bob's teaching brought
with it.
- Bob's infectious laughter and loving smile (which often seemed tinged with
an inner sadness).
- Bob's regular exhortations for us to strive for more from our training and
to not settle for self satisfaction.
- Training with Bob under his house at Brighton and walking with he and
Christine along the boardwalk (just over 12 months ago) - a time when he
seemed as settled and happy as I have ever known him.
- A short but memorable conversation I had with Bob at the Newcastle camp in
January - the last time I saw him.
Thank you Bob - my life has been immeasurably enriched for having known you.
Stephen [Stephen Nugent, Orange, NSW, Australia]
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Steve's poem to Bob:
BOB
You burned brightly
but way too briefly
even in passing
you teach us
reminding us of life's big lessons
Huge of heart
wide in vision
long in loyalty
deeply spiritual
solid as The rock
our family's Uluru
You dwelled on the fringes
as explorers often do
but remained at our centre
feeding us
even when hungry
teaching us
even when tired
leading us
while putting yourself last
Friend and inspiration
teacher and student
laughter and tragedy
strength and vulnerability
you enriched our lives and remain with us
and we with you
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what to say. There's a hole in my chest and a whirlwind of thoughts,
memories and regrets in my mind. I feel that I want to write something
and in someway connect with our Aikido family. I need to grieve with you
all. Now is the time to tell you all that I love you and you are so
important to my life - it's too late for me to tell that to Bob. I should
have done so years ago.
I didn't understand half of what Bob said about life and Aikido, but
he spoke from and to a deeper understanding. I am deeply marked by
him. I don't know what to say. Thanks Bob. I love you and I'll never
forget that half mast hakama.
Fiona [Fiona Hawke, Orange, NSW, Australia]
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I was driving to work at the University of Wollongong on Wednesday when
Stephen Seymour called me to tell me the news of Bob's death. I think I spent
most of the rest of the trip screaming to myself as I drove to work - for the
sad lost of a dear friend.
Thanks be to Bob for blessing this earth and our aikido community with his
love and spirit, his crazy complexities and even crazier and occasionally more
wonderfully irreverent training practices. He was a formidable teacher in our
dojo for years in Canberra and then again throughout Australia and his
contribution to Aikido in QLD.
I have always felt honoured and blessed to be among those who Bob held as
friends.
It was great to spend time with him at summer camp in Newcastle, sad to miss
him at Easter in Canberra.
Deepest sympathy to all who new and loved him. Particularly his family, who
he loved so dearly.
Adam Kronenberg [Wollongong, NSW, Australia]
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Bob became an early and much respected teacher of
mine soon after moving to Canberra (15 years ago). Patience, enthusiasm, joy, generosity and
curiosity were hallmarks of his
teaching. He encouraged us to extend our practice, to "go inside", to let go,
to "just move", and to work and look beyond the obvious. He was
authentic - he walked the talk.
I often draw on movements and practices which Bob taught. We were doing a
"leaning heavily" example in Adelaide just last week.
His legacy is just such as this. I wish I could have done more to repay the
generous sharing of his time, knowledge, wisdom and home. Bob's well centred answers from "left field" will also be sorely
missed ;-) They caused us to think and look at things in new ways, and to acknowledge
and value difference.
He was my teacher and I loved him.
David Dempsey [Adelaide, SA, Australia]
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I'll go along with everything Dave says about Bob. I started Aikido in Bob's
sensitivity classes on Saturday mornings at Turner - my wife still stirs me
about coming home with a black eye after walking blindfolded into a wall - and
it was only when I started weeknight classes a couple of years later that I
realised that the throws and locks actually had names that I had to learn.
I learnt a lot about being with the world from Bob and, even though I haven't
seen him for some years, I find myself feeling the loss of a great spirit.
Ray Hunt [Canberra ACT, Australia]
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Bob scared the hell out of me. He was so honest and real.
In his presence I felt like a liar and a fake. Whether facing him on the mat, or
chatting over a beer, Bob's intensity - his presence - was the same. When Bob
was there, Bob was there.
Bob stood in the world, awake and open-eyed. He faced his own fears and
foibles, and encouraged others to do the same. When my attention wandered, when
my intention was vague or absent, Bob would pounce. It took me a long time - too
long - to learn to welcome that.
To learn that when he did something that scared me, angered me, humbled me,
confused me (or all of the above), he did it out of love.
Thanks Bob.
For being scary
For being honest
For just being.
Scot [Scot Burns, Canberra ACT, Australia]
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I haven't made sense of it yet.......bob gone.....
Stanley Dupont [Australia]
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The members of AKI Pennsylvania, USA, are very sad to hear of this loss. We
never got a chance to meet Bob, but we feel connected to all of you in this sad
time. We announced this news tonight after our keiko. Our dojo is quite small
here, but we always feel very close to AKI members everywhere. We always tell
our new members stories about Takeda Sensei, Seino Sensei, Yasu Sensei and other
members, and their adventures in Australia. The Australia AKI members are very
famous to us here in Pennsylvania USA.
We want you to know that you are very important to us as we continue to train
aikido. We hope you are all well and out hearts are with you.
AKI Pennsylvania, USA: Matt Bridi, Ian Trinkle, Steve Trinkle, John
Smythe, Gene Buryakovsky, Daniel Folkinshteyn, Rob Fisher
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Fudoshin Aikido Dojo sincerely regrets the passing of
Robert ( Bob ) Gibbon.
The memory of the Man and His deep searching through the Beauty of His Aikido
will echo in the Spirit of All dojo. He will be respectfully remembered always,
and the Nature of His Personality will be forever missed.
May God Bless You Bob Gibbon
Chicko Xerie and Fudoshin Dojo [Noosa QLD & Sydney
NSW, Australia]
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My heart is heavy at the realization that we will never see
Bob-san again. It is almost impossible to grasp. What a warm-hearted,
large-spirited human being he was.
It had been many years since I had seen him, but his brief e-mail message of
April 8 "Hope things are well" instantly brought back the memory of a
charming man. How can we know that our delight at the kindnesses of someone, the
smile that comes to our lips when we think of him or her, is actually a feeling
of love?
Perhaps it was only on one trip he made to Japan that I talked and practiced
with him. I remember his keiko feeling so well -- full, heavy, rounded,
sensitive; challenging but with no hard edges. The first time we met he was
standing at a ticket machine somewhere in Yokohama, trying to figure out what to
do. He and his friend were dressed in very short shorts and T-shirts, and they
stood out from the crowd. I helped them get their tickets, and Bob made me
laugh. Then I hurried off. What a surprise to see him enter the Kanazawa Hakkei
dojo later on! It was during that visit perhaps that he took a dan test. We were
sitting in seiza next to each other at Higashi Totsuka, having a pleasant and
lighthearted chat -- he was very relaxed, and I remember so well a feeling of
happiness -- until he was summoned to take his place in the middle of the dojo.
Dear Bob, I hardly knew you but always thought we would meet again. But we
can never know when death will come. Each moment is a gift. Each moment could be
our last. With your passing, I realize how precious were those minutes spent in
camaraderie, laughter, and conversation; that such simple and mundane events
could now take on an inestimable value -- inspiring gratitude to the Fates who
let our paths cross, and grief that they have taken you from this world -- is a
testament to your pure and generous spirit. Be free and glad on this next
journey, Bob. Be filled with joy and light. You were well loved by many, and you
always will be loved.
My heartfelt condolences to Bob's family, friends, and fellow Aikidoka.
Meg Seaker, British Columbia, Canada
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This is terribly sad news, and though I didn't know
Bob all that well (or thought I didn't), I couldn't help but weep out loud for
his passing and our loss.
Aikido Kenkyukai has become one of the treasures of my life, and Bob was
right in there, a rare gem near the centre where he shone, together with my
other irreplaceable teachers. I will miss him and I will always remember him.
Requiescat in pace, Andrew Bettison
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I'll miss Bob doing early morning meditation in an empty
dojo at aikido camps. I'll miss him cornering me at bbq parties to muse about
the hidden significance of basic stances. I'll miss the way he looked off in the
distance like he was looking at something none of the rest of us could see.
I'll miss his constant presence at the heart of our aikido group and his
generosity of spirit. He extended his whole self when he trained and taught and talked. He was inspiring and funny and passionate. I'll miss Bob but I'm
sure now he has found what he was looking for, and his spirit will live on in
each of us.
Tasha Sudan [Kamakura, Japan]
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On Saturday, June 8th, at the end of keiko, I recounted
to my students a story, which I hoped would be motivational. I told them how
when I would say to Suzuki Yasu Sensei that so-and-so trained so hard and with
such enthusiasm, he would often reply in his dry style, "Of course. Soon he
will die."
I told my students how he usually said this not of elderly people, but of
those in their 30's or 40's. This surprised me and made me laugh the first time
I heard it. Then I asked my students if they found out that they had only 6 more
months to live, what would they do. Would they train everyday...? Would they
take time off from training and spend every last minute with friends and
family...? Would they try to combine the two...? What...? "Whatever your
answer,", I concluded, "when we DO train, let's try to train as if
'soon we will die." Then we bowed out, did some ato geiko, and went for a
beer.
We trained again on our usual Tuesday. I tried to keep this idea in mind
while I was teaching and it seemed that my students were doing the same. I got
home feeling invigorated and refreshed. Then I checked my email.
I couldn't stop crying for quite some time and more tears have caught me
off-guard quite a few more times in the past week. The man who always trained as
if "soon he would die", died at 45.
Lia Suzuki [California, USA]
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... a sad and very unexpected occurrence ... I was one of
Bob's very first students in Canberra. I remember many happy, if totally
exhausting, sessions when there was just Bob and me. Rarely have I meet anyone
so committed to and enthusiastic about his Aikido, or in fact most things in his
life. Although I lost contact when we moved to the UK his memory has always
lingered. He was always kind and tolerant towards me. My life is most certainly
better for having known him ...
Best Regards, Doug [Doug Mein, UK]
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I only met Bob twice and spoke briefly to him on both
occasions. In reading all the tribute Emails, I am amazed the influence Bob had
on his fellow aikidoka both on the mat and in everyone's hearts. It's an irony
of life that one doesn't realise how much someone is loved until something like
Bob's passing hits us.
Jason Nyilas
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It's now been a week since I heard of Bob's
passing, and it still seems all
too surreal. In the twelve or so years since I first met Bob, I never
lived in the same town so I was used to only seeing him on the odd
occasion. Those occasions will now seem very odd indeed without Bob there.
I have found reading and sharing everyone's memories and impressions of Bob
very cathartic - thank you to all. I relate so strongly to those feelings
of being daunted by Bob's intensity (especially at first), overwhelmed by
his training - (I don't know what he was doing, but I want to be able to do
it) - inspired by his level of dedication and commitment to "the
way",
touched by his warm smile and genuine interest in me at a personal level
whenever we were reunited, and humoured by his quirky eccentricities.
Although I have feelings of great loss and opportunities missed for myself,
I have a feeling of peace for you now Bob. I trust you are reaping the
rewards of many years of committed hard work.
I love, miss and thank you Bob. I shall cherish the memories.
Jeff Standen [Sydney NSW, Australia]
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Bob was my first Sensei. I recall his
love of broadening his student's understanding by introducing them to
related arts. I remember clearly two classes at Erindale - At one Bob
started by introducing us to a Karate teacher who then took our class. The
second occasion was when Bob introduced a friend of his, who was a full
blood North American Indian, and she taught us a traditional indian dance
and song to welcome in the spring - it was truely delightful. With Bob
training always had unexpected dimensions.
Diana Wright [Canberra, Australia]
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